Cancer refers to a collective class of diseases characterized by uncontrolled proliferation of cells and their invasion to normal tissues or organs caused by the accumulation of genetic mutations, thereby destroying the normal tissues or organs, generating new sites of malignancy and, in the end, leading to death of an organism.
At present, chemotherapy using anticancer compounds largely depends on about 40 kinds of anticancer compounds having strong cytotoxicities and thus causes many side effects. Therefore, there is a need for the development of new anticancer agents that can effectively treat cancers with no or much reduced side effects. In this regard, researches have been focused on developing new anticancer agents using natural products, particularly from wild plants and herbs. Of the anticancer agents originated from natural products, there is Taxol (paclitaxel) isolated from the Pacific yew tree. However, this compound is not advantageous in that it affects not only the cancer cells but also normal cells and also has toxicity and side effects because of its low solubility in water.
The present inventors, in the midst of conducting researches to find anticancer agents, discovered that an Androsace umbellata Merr. extract, a solvent fraction thereof and saxifragifolin isolated therefrom can inhibit various cancer cells, which have never been reported. There is a report that the root extract of Ardisia crispa induces uterine contraction in mice and saxifragifolin D and saxifragifolin B were isolated as an active ingredient. However, there has been no report on their role in preventing or treating cancers and tumors [Baumann et al., Ardisiacrispin A and B, two utero-contracting saponins from Ardisia crispa. Planta Medica, 53, 405-409, 1987.].
The present inventors have made extreme efforts to find herbal compounds providing better anticancer activities than those of the existing known anticancer agents while having less side effects. As a result, they confirmed that the Androsace umbellata Merr. extract, the fraction thereof and the triterpene saponin compounds isolated therefrom have superior anticancer activities against lung cancer, breast cancer, uterine cancer, colon cancer, etc.